target audience

I consider this to be a positive development (via Carpetbagger):

I’ve often thought there should be some kind of consequence for Fox News’ more ridiculous behavior. Apparently, I’m not the only one.

These are chilly days on Capitol Hill … and on the campaign trail for Fox News journalists — at least when they’re anywhere near Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

Sources tell The Sleuth that the Obama camp has “frozen out” Fox News reporters and producers in the wake of the network’s major screw-up in running with the erroneous Obama-the-jihadist story reported by Insight magazine.

“I’m still in the freezer,” one Fox journalist said, noting that the people at Fox “suffering the most did nothing wrong.” (It was “Fox and Friends” host Steve Doocy who aired the Insight magazine piece, which reported that operatives connected to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) found out that Obama, as a child, was educated at a Muslim madrassah in Indonesia.)

Another Fox journalist called the network’s airing of the story “unfortunate” for the network’s journalists who have to cover Obama and who are being adversely affected despite not being involved in the incident.

Aw.  Cry me a goddamn river.  Those poor, poor Pox News correspondents.  How dare those mean ol' Obama people strike back in the face of what was clearly a paper-thin, double-dealing, vicious personal attack (which Fox then turned around and tried to blame on the Hillary camp).  What are they thinking?  It's not like Fox is nothing but a propaganda tool for the Republican Party, right?

Oh, no, wait.

It’s difficult to feel sorry for Fox News’ team.

I'll say. 

Whether the individual correspondent assigned to Obama’s campaign was directly responsible for the bogus madrassa story or not, it’s still Fox News. What are the chances that the reporting on his campaign will be fair? And if those chances are small, why give the network precious time?

It may seem petty to punish the network, but I like this approach. Indeed, if Fox News is basically an ideological tabloid, along the lines of the National Enquirer, why play along and treat it as a legitimate news source? Why not punish irresponsible conduct?

Indeed.  I think all Democrats should boycott Fox News.  Or if they do talk to Fox, make sure to get in a dig or two at their utter lack of objectivity and their willingness to spin stories out of whole cloth as long as they benefit the GOP.  I've seen some excellent push-back from (of course) Big Dog in his interview with that little mewling, puking hairball Chris Wallace, Barney Frank, and even Barbara Boxer.  I believe that any Democratic or left-leaning pundit who says anything at all to Fox News should make it abundantly clear how contemptuous they are of Fox's journalistic standards (such as they are).  The administration sock-puppets who host and staff the programming certainly aren't shy about showing their irrational hate and prejudice toward anything that isn't so red-state that it's momma and daddy are siblings.  Sensible Dems should by all means return the favor.

What has been Fox's response to the Obama camp's decision to put them in Time Out?

A Fox News spokesperson told the Post that it’s in Obama’s interest to change his mind. In reference to Obama’s campaign advisor, Robert Gibbs, the FNC media flack said, “[P]erhaps Mr. Gibbs should reconsider that ill-advised strategy given his candidate is trailing by 20 points in the polls.”

In other words, "Nice candidacy you've got here.  Be a shame if anything…'happened' to it."

Yeah, well, that's mighty tough talk from a network whose ratings are dropping like an Evangelical preacher's pants at a gay hooker convention.

In the week and a half since the election, the numbers have settled somewhat, and Fox is back to number one. But there is no denying the trend: CNN, and now third-place MSNBC, are steadily gaining in share, and Fox is, well, not. It's still the leader, but even before the election it was showing signs of slippage: Its October 2006 numbers reflected a 2% drop in total day and a 9% drop in primetime. CNN was up 15% in total day and lost only 1% in primetime — while underdog MSNBC enjoyed a double-digit jump on both fronts with a 34% leap in day and a 15% hike in primetime, the only network of the three to post gains.

Die, Fox News, die.  Our nation will be so much smarter and better informed for it. 

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